So I noticed that I'm not being compliant with the rules of banding. I know what I should be eating and for the most part, I'm doing ok; however, with only 3cc in my band, I don't feel satisfied and keep looking for more to eat.

I'm exercising 6-7 times a week for 50-60 minutes each session. Is the exercise upping my appetite?

With all I've been through to this point, I don't want to play the old games and sabotage my hard work.

Maybe I need a shrink who specializes in eating issues...?

Anyone have some advice or thoughts or similar experiences?

:laugh:

So I noticed that I'm not being compliant with the rules of banding. I know what I should be eating and for the most part, I'm doing ok; however, with only 3cc in my band, I don't feel satisfied and keep looking for more to eat.

I'm exercising 6-7 times a week for 50-60 minutes each session. Is the exercise upping my appetite?

With all I've been through to this point, I don't want to play the old games and sabotage my hard work.

Maybe I need a shrink who specializes in eating issues...?

Anyone have some advice or thoughts or similar experiences?

:laugh:

I notice that I too am eating more then I should...I havent been exercising either so that could account for my not losing weight...I will be getting my first fill come 10/21 and am hoping that that will help me decrease my hunger...As far as a shrink I have read that others get therapy for their eating issues it may be a good thing to check into....

i just got done talking to my nutritionist about this. i have pretty good restriction...but i nee to eat! i asked her and she said, "if you are working out as much as you are, you are going to need to eat more!" i said okie doke! so i eat my less than 4 oz for my meals and then i usually have a small healthy snack in between meals an sometimes in the evening. and it has not sabotaged my weight loss at all! good luck and i hope you find that happy medium soon!:laugh:

Thanks to both of you for your responses! :laugh:

Wow I am going through the same thing. I got banded

August 12th the first 2 weeks I lost 25 lbs but onlye 5 more since then. I got my first fill 5cc's in a 11cc band on Sept 23rd and thats when I lost 5lbs. At first I had great restriction but it seems like one day i will have great restriction and the next day i don't. I don't understand that. I was also thinking that I need to see a shrink about my eating behaviors because it seems like im making some of the same poor food decisions that i made before surgery. I know the surgery doesn't fix the way you think about food but i feel like im sabotaging myself as well :tt2::smile2::crying::mad2::frown::mad:

I can totally relate. Presurgery I had been dieting and exercising daily for about 22 months; and had lost 80 pounds. I lost about 20 within the first 2-3 weeks and now have plateaud. I had no restriction after first fill 4CC's and had a second yesterday adding 2 more. I am trying to religiously follow the diet the doctor perscribed; and measure out my protein with a scale etc. I am eating a lot less now and am not loosing weight. Prior to surgery I was eating more and loosing 1-2 pounds a week. So kind of frustrating. yes I know everyone plateaus and that muscle weighs more than fat; but it would be nice for the scale to move.

I know exactly what your talking about.. I was banded on July 30th and have had 1 fill total of 4cc and very little restriction! I struggle with food all the time....the portion sizes as well as what I eat. It really sucks..I know I have a problem with food..but working really hard to change that...some days I do good and other days I don't. If there is something I shouldnt eat in front of me and Im hungry i normally end up eating it...so I try to keep away from temptation..I dont buy or keep the stuff in my house either..like chips, dips, sweets ect. I keep some snacks for my 2 year old though. This is going to be a battle for us, especially for those of us whose relationship with feed goes beyone hunger. I just take one day at a time and if I mess up I beat myself up for a minute than start over again..every day is a new day..I just hope I get restriction soon!!

Nicole, it seems you and I are so similar. I am 39 (just a bit older than you :smile2: ), have yo-yo'd my whole life with weight and diets, I was banded on 7/22. I had to have 2 cc's removed a few weeks after surgery, and now have had 2 fills (2nd one yesterday!) and I have a total of 2.5 cc's in my 9 (I think) cc band. I have lost 23 pounds total and am constantly struggling with the food issue. I cannot really tell yet if I have more restriction now with the 2nd fill since it was just yesterday but I am sure hoping. I am hoping to lose 80 more pounds by next June. I really find it helpful seeing others posts that are going through similar experiences as me, that were banded around the same time as me. Good luck to you and let's hope we can get through this together and reach our goal weights!

So glad that I'm not alone! Was banded 8/11 and have had 2 fills totaling 4.5 ccs in a 10cc band. I don't feel much restriction and can still eat most anything so long as I chew it. Like others, I'm trying to make good choices in what I eat, but with no restriction, I am not losing.

Starting tomorrow (since I'm not eating anymore today), I am going to dig out all of my Lapband information and really stick to the program and get my exercise in and write down what I am eating. It's not the band's fault, it's my responsibility to follow the program in order for it to work!

Thanks for motivating me tonight, this post is exactly what I needed! :smile2:

The more I look, the more I see people in my boat...little or no restriction...and then I see the occasional response that it will happen...that sometimes it just takes 4-5 fills...I've had 3 since my surgery 7/30 and was supposed to have my 4th tomorrow (postponed due to another scheduling problem with the doc's office). I hope the 4th one does a lot more for me...

I see a counsler and I attend OA(overeaters anonymous) a free program similar to AA(alcoholics anonymous) it just talks about our obsessions with food and everyone there is trying to figure out how to have a healthy relationship with food. It has helped alot!!! The counsler helps but it costs money. So whatever your budget you can get the help we need to fix our "heads"...... good luck....:smile:

I think people should not be looking for the fills to stop all your eating patterns. I have been banded for 15 months today and have lost 80 lbs so far. Today I had to go have some fill removed, just .2ccs. I now have 3.8 ccs in my 10cc band and that is all I can handle. I think people concentrate too much on the amount of fill they have, some of it has to be self-discipline and forcing yourself to change your eating habits. Some of you have more in your first fill than I have in 15 months. Finding out what is behind the head hunger is the best thing you can do for yourself.

Cheri

I'm doing pretty good with not snacking between meals, but I do eat more than 6oz at meals. Today my yummy frozen dinner was 10oz and I felt fine after eating it. Not stuffed or anything, but I keep getting worried about stretching my pouch.

I feel the same way! I have already had 2 fills and am going for my third one tomorrow. I am afraid that I actually gained weight since my last fill (I am not certain because my doctor's scale is substantially different than mine). In all honesty, this past month I have been nothing but bad when it comes to eating the right foods and exercising, but I just feel so frustrated with the whole thing. I mean, I was banded on July 9th and, up until like three weeks ago, was eating right, controlling my portions, going to the gym 4 times a week, and I only have a total of 22 pounds gone to show for it. I am almost regretting my decision to get this surgery. At least before, when I dieted I lost some weight, but now I feel that I am at such a plateau and have even gained some of the weight back. I am afraid that my doctor will not give me another fill because of my weight gain which really kind of stinks since I am out of state at school and can't just go to her whenever I want to (she is two hours away). I am also super concerned that I have stretched out my pouch. I don't know if there is a way to check for that or not, but I know that it is possible. Anways, I'm glad that I'm not alone.

Ekels,

Hang in there. It's tough without restriction. That's great you are working out, keep it up for sure. I don't think you have to worry about your doc. giving you a fill. I would concentrate on eating the righ foods, hi protien, low carb, low fat, high protien. You might want to start journaling what your eating. 'there are lots of good sites online, or you can do it paper and pencil.

As far as stretchig your pouch, I doubt you did that. I read it would take months of overeating to do that. Best wishes!

I think people should not be looking for the fills to stop all your eating patterns. . I think people concentrate too much on the amount of fill they have, some of it has to be self-discipline and forcing yourself to change your eating habits.

Very good advice, Cheri. I'm not a grazer but can sit down and eat enough for 3 people at one meal. I did a lot of research pre-band and had expectations that the band would keep me from this type of overeating. I spent the better part of a year 'waiting' for that 'sweet spot' everyone talked about. Even when I was so overfilled I was getting stuck on just about everything, I could still eat as much as I did before band.

It was only after I had my fill removed that I realized what true hunger was (and what I dealt with constantly prior to the band) and that I had hit my 'sweet spot' (suppression of true hunger) but had bypassed it while believe the sweet spot was 'physical' restriction. It may work that way for some people, but that is not the primary purpose of the band.

My surgeon said that it was originally believed the band worked by physically restricting the volume eaten, but they now understand that its primary purpose is to put pressure on the vagus nerves which control the hunger hormone, ghrelin. So instead of looking for physical restriction as the sweet spot, we should be looking for no hunger. The problem is that most of us can't differentiate between true hunger and bad habits or mental cravings and sometimes it takes something drastic (like a complete unfill) for us to be reminded of what it used to be like.

The band will take away the true hunger...but it won't change our bad habits. That takes good old fashioned self-control and willpower.

.