Eating too much? Opinions please

[CarolWA 0]

So I went for a checkup and maybe a fill on Thursday. I had lost 8.5 pounds in the 4 weeks since I had last been there. To me, that was fine. I was staying full, eating what I'm suppose to, although, I thought a cup of food at a time was good. Dr. says, I'm eating way too much. I should only be eating 1/4 cup at one sitting. Like I said, I was happy with the 8.5 pound weight loss. They gave me another 1/2 cc in my 10 cc band. I now have 4.1 cc's total in my band. Well, now I'm eating that 1/4 cup, but I've lost 8 pounds since Thursday morning. So what do you guys think?? Was I eating too much???

example

Protein in the morn

cheese stick snack

cup of chili at lunch

fruit for snack

salad for dinner

protein at bedtime

[Rutiglius 0]

Nope! My doc said about 1 cup per serving. Before I started having probs with my band and gained weight back...I was losing fine at 1 cup.

[elcee 3,340]

I think your Dr is a Nazi and that his regime could lead to problems in the future! If you were comfortable before, able to eat and losing weight then there was no need to mess with that. Aiming for a 1/4 cup is ridiculous, unrealistic and could lead to you being too tight which comes with a whole set of problems.

[CarolWA 0]

Thanks for the imput. Not sure what I'm going to do. Right now I can't keep too much down. I think half the time the 1/4 cup is too much. Lots of vomiting, which I didn't do before. This is Sunday, if the vomiting keeps up, I'll call him and see if he will unfill that 1/2 cc. I'm betting he won't, but you never know.

[marykb 0]

My Dr. started me with 1/4 C or 2 oz as well. I was banded in April and last week I was told I could move up to 1/2 C of food if I were still hungry after 1/4 C.

If you are losing weight, I think you are doing a great job! I hope that your vomiting stops soon!

[emjay 8]

To me it sounds like you are overfilled (or swollen from the fill). A cup of food should be fine. Too much vomiting is a big alarm that you are too tight. I don't really understand why he gave you such a big fill if you were losing at the rate you were. You may need to be more assertive with your care and tell them what you want. If you feel you are at a good place and losing weight consistently, there is no need for a fill (if the amount of food is keeping you satisfied). It is dangerous to be overfilled. Too easy to dilate the pouch, easier for a slipped band, and a stretch esophagus.

I'm not trying to alarm you, but it's important you are proactive with your care and communicate your concerns to your doctor. Remember it is YOU that needs to determine where is your sweet spot. Your doctor doesn't live in your body and doesn't know what it is like for you as everyone's "journey" is different.

[BetsyB 9]

I agree with emjay--but my doctor's rule of thumb, postfill, is that as long as I can keep fluids down, I can tough it out for a few days to see if swelling goes down.

It doesn't sound to me as though you were eating a ton pre-fill; my doctor is more than happy with an 8.5 pound loss/month; it's greater than average, and he would not even ask me to list my foods if I had that kind of loss.

AND he's super-stringent---so if he's a-okay with it, it sounds like your doctor's... I don't know, doing too many bypasses and confusing his patients with one another.

[pollywogg 17]

My Doctor wants three 1/2 - 1 cup meals a day but no Snacks in between. If there is any snacking or hunger inbetween meals then that is their que to do a fill.

[CarolWA 0]

Went and got a little unfill today. Feeling much better. Thanks for the advice guys.

[emjay 8]

I'm so glad Carol. No sense being miserable on this journey. Just pay attention to how much you can eat and how long it takes before you get hungry again. That will give you an indication of when and if you need a fill. And ALWAYS be able to get in enough Fluid. If you don't, that can cause tightness in the band also. I'm always a little tighter in the morning due to the loss of Fluid at night. Not than I can't eat, just more uncomfortable so I just drink a Protein shake instead.

Hope it all goes better for you now!

[icequeen813 3]

So I went for a checkup and maybe a fill on Thursday. I had lost 8.5 pounds in the 4 weeks since I had last been there. To me, that was fine. I was staying full, eating what I'm suppose to, although, I thought a cup of food at a time was good. Dr. says, I'm eating way too much. I should only be eating 1/4 cup at one sitting. :cursing: Like I said, I was happy with the 8.5 pound weight loss. They gave me another 1/2 cc in my 10 cc band. I now have 4.1 cc's total in my band. Well, now I'm eating that 1/4 cup, but I've lost 8 pounds since Thursday morning. So what do you guys think?? Was I eating too much???

example

Protein in the morn

cheese stick snack

cup of chili at lunch

fruit for snack

salad for dinner

protein at bedtime

Carol, You have lost 71 lbs since June 2010! Fantastic! What more does the Doc expect from you... I think he is being over aggressive, average weight loss is supposed to be 8 lbs a month.

[Cleo's Mom 257]

From reading posts on this forum for over 2 years it is my belief that many surgeons really are just guessing about what to tell patients about food and nutrition. And I think a lot of time they do a lousy job. They are all over the place. One tells someone they can have gum, pop, a cup of food, Snacks, the other says no to all of these and only 1/4 cup of food. And I think the reason for this is that so many jumped on the WLS bandwagon to make money and while their surgical techniques might be okay, their follow up care is often lacking. If a patient is losing over 8 pounds in 4 weeks they shouldn't be given a fill. You are only supposed to lose 1-2 pounds a week. Many doctors take weight loss of patients as some sort of gold star for them.

My advice? Count calories and eat the healthy foods that your band can tolerate. Follow the band rules for chewing and not drinking with meals and exercise daily.

After all, your body's metabolism with regard to calories in and calories out didn't change because you got a band around your stomach.

[ziggledog 0]

I'm a relative newcomer here, having had my surgery on 4/26/10 (BMI 37, 236 lb, now about 214lb), so I am certainly no authority. I have been at this long enough to have learned a couple of things that work for me.

First, I have to use my band properly - that means, for example, that there are foods that don't seem to work (e.g., sushi with seaweed wrapping), or that I can't eat to quickly or not chew enough or else I'll puke.

It also means that I have to eat enough food to feel satisfied, otherwise I'm just hungry all the time - the way I was when I spent all those years dieting. For me, that seems to be my (Dr. recommended) 1 cup of food 4 times per day. This includes lots of fruit and veggies. I simply cannot imagine how an adult can possibly be satisfied on 1/4 cup of food per sitting**. You've got to stretch your pouch a little bit (with food) to activate the nerves that push your "satisfied" button. Tiny portions seems like a set-up for hunger and grazing (and misery).

**I try to keep those 1 cup servings averaging between 300 and 400 calories each. Hope that helps!

Edited September 1, 2010 by ziggledog
forgot to add something